Cabl hobix



sept. 1s, 1930. c. HQRIX 1,775,723l

l BELT BUCKLE Filed Dec. 2l. 1927A lr, Il l l l l ll; Z3 y1@ 15' 75 1 1213 4 13 jg 13 j@ fil/637W?? Chri 70222, "gy ma. .SV mi Patented Sept. 16, 193() t.. oARLtnoRIinor CHICAGO, ILLINoIs This invention relates toeirpansible holding devices forV belts `tobe worn about' the v waist and is inthe nature ofan' improvement Lonthe device of m' y :prior application, Serial *115 yNo; 146,916, filed ovemberS, 1926.V

j f f 'One bj ect ofthe inventionis to provide an 'fexpansible belt' buckle: which shalllel of im'- prevedconstruction and operation. A further o'bjc'ar'zt of the invention isto pro- 10 vide an expansible belt buckle" having resilient means so disposed as to bepracticallyinvisible, and so as not to interefere with the position of the belt or the'opera'tion of the b'elt buckle, 2- and' soasnot to irritate `or 'incon-l 15 venience thefwearer' j i A' further'obj'ect isv to provide an'improved .method of constructing a buckle of the class @ther objects'and 'advantages will appear frorn'the following descr'ip"tion'.` ,j f The inventionj exemplified in the coin- Y bination' andarrangelnentof parts shownin the accompanyingfdrawing" Iand' described in the ,following specification, and "'it is more claims.`

Inthedrawingf f.

j Fig: 1 a frontelevation ofE a belt' buckle comprising" the' presentf'invention and attachedtoabelt, Hv`

" Fig. 2"isa'-section' o'n line of Fig. 1;

` Fig. 3'i's a sectionon' line 3-'-3 of Figl`2; i Fig. L lisa section'on'line' 1j-Lief Fig. 3 and Fig; 5 -isa plan of the blankffrom vwhich the body'of the buckle'forme'dl f L l "Figs 3,14 and`5 'are onan enlarged scale'.

' In thedrawing', the numeral 10 designates a buckle plate orV body' having flanges 11 bent backwardly at 'opposite edges thereof, the rear edges of the flanges being rolled inwardly to form tubular housings 12 which are spaced rearwardly from the plate, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3.

When the plate is blanked out, eyelets 13 are punched in the plate near the opposite edges thereof in position to be disposed on the inner faces of the housings 12 when the edges are rolled up to form the completed buckle. Spaced projections 14 are also formed on the 50 blank in position to project from one edge of particularly pointed' out 'in' tlffeappended each tubularhousing. The tubularhoustinV s 12 may be kcircular orrslightly'elongated` 1n crosssection,asshown inv Fig. 3. j

Compression springs 15 are provided with -bar's- 16` whichextend through'the springs, each bar having a head 17 at one endfor engaging one end of the spring. After thetubular housingsk l2-have been formed, the projectionsA 14 are vbent inwardly to provide arel stricted opening' atone end of each of'the housings of suflicient size to admit the bar 16 butto retain the springs '15' against endwise movement from the end ofthe housing. The springs y15 and bars 16 are inserted in each of the housings 12through the'open ends' there# "i of and the'ends of the'bars are proj ected from the restrictedopeningsformed by the inwardlybent lugs 14.. lThe projecting ends of the bars 16 are then formedabout lugslS on an attachment loop 19 towhich the end 'of the belt 20 is detachably secured by snap fasten# ers 21. A buckle tongue 22 is provided with aloop 23 which extends aboutfa' pivot pin 24. The pin'24s is journal'edin the eyelets 13. The

tongue ma be first loopedabont l'the pin24 and thesi es 11 may then bespread'slightly to permit the insertion ofthe pin'24, after which vthey are Aforced'inwardly `to their normal positionto'preventthe escape of ythe pin 24 fromits support.V y 'Y j The front edge of thetongue 22 engages 'the rear face ofthebelt 20', the'tongue being disposed at an' oblique angle to the surfac'efof the belt and being inclinedtoward the loose end of the belt'so that ten'sio'n'o'nthel belt pres'seskthejend ofV the' tongue more" tightly against the face of the belt. A lever member 125 is'formed continuously with thetongue 22 and loop 23 and'may be taperedto providel a contact end for engaging'the'vfaceo'f the belt. The' parts are so proportionedjthat the edge of the tongue willstrike the face of tli'e'belt before the lever engages'th'e" belt` and when the lever is pressed into'contactwiththe belt, tle'edge of thetongue will slightly compress the belt so that it' will besuiiiciently iin'- bedded in the surface of the belt to 'secu'rea firm grip thereon.

The position of the eyelets'13 on the inner 'faces ofthe housings; 12 `permits theI tongue to be pivoted between the housings Without any pivotal support or other projection extending rearwardly beyond the surfaces of the housings. The spaced relation of the housings l2 to the plate l0 permits the edges of the belt to underlie the housings so that the buckle is but very slightly wider than the belt itself. lt will be noted that all of the moving parts are concealed by the belt and the buckle has the appearance of a buckle of usual construction.

The form of housing and attachment for the springs l5 makes it possible to manufacture the buckle with a minimum of labor and expense and to employ springs under compression which automatically limit the amount of yielding movement to an amount determined by the size and proportions of the parts. 'lhc buckle may be readily detached from the belt and applied to other belts, desired.

I claim:

l. A belt buckle comprising a plate, housing members spaced rearwardly from said plate and extending adjacent opposite edges thereof, springs disposed in said housing members, said springs being adapted to have one end of a belt attached thereto, and aholding device pivotally mounted between the inner faces of said housing members and disposed entirely in front of the plane of the rear faces of said housing members for holding the other end of said belt against the rear face of said plate.

2. A belt buckle comprising a plate having opposite edges thereof bent rearwardly, tubular housing members projecting inwardly from the rearwardly bent portions of said plate and spaced from the rear face of said plate, yielding means in said housing meinbers adapted to beconnected to one end of a belt, said housing members having alined pivotal openings in the inner` faces thereof and disposed in front of the plane of the rear edges of Said housing members, a pin having its opposite ends disposed in said openings, and a holding tongue mounted on said pin for engaging the other end of said belt.

A belt buckle comprising a plate having a pair of tubular housing members mounted at opposite edges thereof and spaced rearwardly from said plate, each of said housing members having a restricted opening at one end thereof, a spring disposed in each of said housing members and bars each having one end thereof held by said springs and the opposite end thereof extending through one of said restricted openings, the projecting ends of said bars being adapted to have one end of a belt attached thereto and holding means for holding the other end of said belt against the rear face of said plate.

4. In combination, a belt buckle comprising a plate, tubular housing members disposed adjacent opposite edges of said plate and spaced rearwardly from the rear surface of said plate, each of said tubular housing members having one end thereof open and the opposite end thereof partially closed, helical springs disposed in each of said housing members, rods extending through said springs and having heads on the ends thereof adjacent the open ends of said housing members for engaging the ends of said springs respectively, the ends of said rods opposite their heads extending through the restricted openings in the ends of said housing members, a belt having one end thereof attached to the projecting ends of said rods, and means disposed between said housing members for clamping the opposite end of said belt to said plate.

belt buckle comprising a plate having portions on opposite edges thereof rolled to form tubular housing members, springs in said housing members to which one end of a belt is adapted to be attached, said portions having perforations therethrough arranged to be brought into registration when Said portions are rolled to form housing members, and a releasable holding tongue pivotally supported by means mounted in Vsaid perforations,` said holding tongue being held against bodily movement by said perforations and adapted to hold the other end of said belt'against the rear face of said plate.

6. A belt buckle comprising a plate having portions adjacent opposite edges thereof rolled to form tubular housing members, said portions having pivot supports arranged to be brought into registration when said portions are rolled to form said housing members, a holding device mounted in said ivotal supports for holding one end of al elt against the rear face of said plate, projections on said plate at one end of each of said rolled portions arranged to be bent inwardly to form restricted openings at the ends of said tubular housing members, springs disposed in said tubular housing members, pull rods `connected with said springs and projecting from the restricted openings at the ends of said housing members, and means on the projecting ends of said pull rods to which the other end of said belt may be attached.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification on this 16th day of September, A. D. 1927.

CARL HORIX. 

